grace And the duty on our part that we may be fitted for this great benefit is a godly resolution joyned with an earnest endeavour to consecrate our selves to the forsaking of sin and wickednesse and a lively faith whereby we lay hold and feele the power of this inward washing by the Holy Ghost Therefore I conclude with the prayer for the day which I finde excellently framed to my hand in these words Most tender and compassionate Lord now first knowne by thy name Jesus who being the true Vine which yeeldest the wine that gladdeth the heart wast pruned this day with the sharpe knife of circumcision and bâ—eddest for me have pitty and compassion on me who with weeping eyes and a bleeding heart come unto thee beseeching thee that these drops of blood which fell from thee this day may satisfie for the sin of my Birth and the whole streame that ran from all the parts of thy body in the Garden and on the Crosse may expiate all my numberlesse actuall sins whether they be sinnes of lighter tincture or of a skarlet dye sinnes like beames or sins like moats sins conceived in the heart only or sins brought forth into act sins in my beleefe or sins in my life sins once committed or sins often repeated sins before or after my calling sins of impiety against thee or sins of Iniquity against my neighbour or sins of impurity against my owne flesh for of all these I have a great load they are more in number then the haires of my head they are a burden too heavie for me to beare they lye upon my conscience like so many Talents of lead and would presse me downc to hell did not thy mercy take hold of the hand of my faith to support me in hope even above hope How should I hope if I think upon thy greatnesse how should I not hope iâ— I think upon thy goodnesse How should I hope if I weigh my sins How should I not hope if I weigh thy Merits How should I hope if I coÌ„sider my Actions How should I not hope if I consider thy Passions How should I hope if I number my Transgressions How should I not hope if I number thy Blessings and favours towards me How should I hope if I remember how oft I have refused grace after it hath bin offered unto me How can I but hope if I remember how oft Grace hath been offered unto me after I refused it And still hope I will as long as thou retainest thy Name JESUS which this day thou receivedst when thou offeredst the first fruits of thy blood for my sin without which thou couldst not have been my JESUS for so foule and festered were my sores that nothing could heale them but a bloodie knife But why should this bloody instrument be applyed to thy purest tenderest Immaculate flesh made all of Virgins blood There was no superfluity to be pared off in thee nor ranke blood to be let out the superfluous skinne was on me yet the knife is on thee the festered sores were in my body yet the lance is in thy flesh Thou hast the paine I the ease thou the smart I the cure O wonderfull Cure O more wonderfull Love out of the mouths of babes and sucklings as thou hast ordained so maist thou justly challenge Praise who in thy Inâ—ancie madest such an assay of my Redemption and tenderedst the earnest of thy blood for me Not nine dayes old thou sheddest drops of blood for mee far more precious than so many drops of the richest Balsamum to cure my wounds Let all flesh praise thee who healest it by thy wounds eternall thanks be given unto thee for thy Circumcision whereby thou hast abolished Circumcision it selfe and provided me an easier remâ—dy of originall sin the sacred Laver of Regeneration Water now serveth in stead of blood and a gentle rubbing of the flesh for cutting and wounding it By the Circumcision of thy flesh thou hast merited for me the fulfilling of thy Fathers promise and condition of his Covenant to circumcise the fore-skin of our hearts By this thy rasor thou hast fitted the Tables of my heart now write thy Lawes and love in them By receiving this Seale of the Covenant in thy flesh thou hast sealed to me thy care of me in thy nonage First O Lord I am everlastingly to praise thee for taking my flesh upon thee and next for leaving part of it with me as a pledge of thy love thou bearest to me from thy Mothers wombe In thy infancie thou bleddest for me in thy twelfth yeare thou arguedst for me in thy youth thou obeyedst for me and in thy ripe and perfect age thou sufferedst and dyedst for me To thee therefore as it is my bounden duty I offer the buds of my child-hood the blossoms of my youth and the fruits of my age As thou betimes didst set to the work of my Redemption and on those termes acceptedst the Name JESUS So let me betimes give my name to thee and enter into thy service Let me beare thy yoke even from my youth Lord who this day wert circumcised in the flesh Circumcise me in the heart that I may in purity sincerity and uprightnesse of heart walk before thee all the dayes of my life neither circumcise my heart only but my ears eyes hands head and feet that no superfluity of maliciousnesse nor impurity remain in me Now thou hast renewed the face of the earth renew this day and repaire thy decayed Image in me Thou hast begun a new year begin in me a new Reformation make mee I beseech thee a cleane heart and renue a right spirit within me The yeare like the Serpent hath cast off his old skin and put on a new so let mee also cast off my old Man and put on the new Man and from this day to my old age and death walk in newnesse of life That I may be a fit guest to bee admitted into the new heaven where dwellâ—â—h Righteousnesse and to be entertained at thy Table and drink new Wine with thee in thy heavenly Kingdome for evermore Amen MARS or a Meditation on Ashwednesday IN time of the ceremonial Law the Paschall Lambe was commanded to bee rosted with fire dressed and prepared with sowre hearbs to be a fitting sacrifice to God for the people And Christ the true Paschall Lambe in accomplishment thereof throughout the whole course of his life was continually broyled in the fire of affliction and seasoned with the sowre revilings and bitter taunts of malicious men that he might become a pleasant sacrifice to God his Father Now as the Planet Mars is three yeares before he accomplish or fulfill his celestiall race so likewise Christ in the race or circuit of his ministeriall office was three yeares viz. from the one and thirtieth yeare of his age to his death And as Mars though in himselfe inoffensive yet opposed by contrary aspects proves fatall so Christ if well placed in pious hearts
thou cursedst and it withered without naturall affections bemoane thee as the stones that clave the veile that rent and the earth that quaked at thy Passion without wil voluntarily offer thee service the Foale to beare thee the Dove to manifest thee the Fish to discharge thee the Sunne to hide thy ignominy among men and here the Cloud to veile thee from mortall eye and transport thee into heaven O Lord my Redeemer how excellent is thy Name in all the world Thou makest the Light thy Garment the Angells thy Messengers the Aire thy race the Clouds thy Chariot and flyest upon the wings of the wind into heaven Thou art ascended up on high thou hast led Captivity captive In thy Passion thou wast Deaths death and killedst it In thy buriall thou wast the Graves grave and destroyedst Destruction And now in thy Ascension thou conqueredst Conquest it selfe and ledst Captivity captive and receivedst Gifts for men for the whole Church and every beleever O Lord bestow these Gifts liberally upon me that I may grow in grace and the knowledge and love of thee This day thou liftedst up thy body from the earth lift up my heart from it This day thou transportedst thy body to heaven transport my desires thither This day thou setledst thy self in thy Throne at the right hand of thy Father fix my thoughts and settle mine affections on thee in heaven and on heaven for thee Amen VENVS OR A Meditation on Whitsunday IN the old Testament I find that two several times fire descended from heaven upon sacrifices prepared for offrings of a sweet smelling savour unto the Lord. The first was when Manoah the father of Sampson at the commandement of the Angel offered a Kid upon a stone Then did he whose name is marvellous do wondrously and ascended in the flame up into heaven for the strengthning of Manoahs faith and for the confirmation of the truth of his promise The other was when Eliah for confirmation of the true religion and extirpation of idolatry called for fire from Heaven which consumed the sacrifice and licked up the water in the Trench round about the Altar Then did the Lord manifest himself to be the only God that all superstitions and will-worship is the invention of mans braine And in the New Testament I reade that as on this day the Holy Ghost the third person in the blessed Trinity descended from heaven and sate upon the heads of 120 men and women assembled and prepared as a sacrifice acceptable to God with unity charity and devotâ—on in the likenesse of cloven fiery tongues then did God the Sonne worke wonderfully in performing his promise by sending his dejected Disciples a holy Comforter by whose comming besides the internall joy and incredible alacrity and exultation of minde they received also fortitude and audacity to goe forth into the world They received the gift of tongues enabling them to converse and deale with all sorts of people They received wisdome and learning with most powerfull illumination in highest mysteries whereby to preach to teach and convince their adversaries They received the gift of prophesie to foretell things to come together with the power of working signes and miracles whereby the whole world remained astonied and for a taste or earnest penny of that which should ensue concerning the infinite increase of that little congregation they saw 3000 of their adversaries converted to them in one day by a Sermon of S. Peter But all the parâ—iculars of this story is so divinely performed by M. Austin that in his work as in a glasse I perceive my gifts of learning and devotion are as farre inferiour to his as the frothy filthy and carnall love in Venus is inferiour to the holy Spirit of Gods love Yet because I have oft found in Scripture that the Lord is pleased for the illumination of mans dark understanding to speake of himselfe as of a man attributing to himselfe eyes nose mouth armes hands feet c. And affections also as anger zeale joy love c. whereas these qualities are not properly in God for he is voide of corporeall habit being of an infinite and incomprehensible essence Therefore I was so presumptuously bold as in my former expressions to demonstrate the meritorious actions of our blessed Saviour by those forenamed Planets so in this day to write of this blessed spirit of Gods love as it hath correspondency with mans but finding my ability to be insufficient for such a work I conclude with the prayer for the day in these words Incomprehensible Spirit the third person in the blessâ—d and glorious Trinity who after the Father had manifested himselfe to the world in the works of creation and the sonne in the works of Redemption finished in the flesh diddest manifest thy selfe on this day in a wonderfull manner by the sound of a â—ushing winde and the light of fiery tongues manifest thy self most powerfully and gloriously in the universall Church by enlarging her bounds and making up her breaches by hallowing her assemblies and furnishing her Pastors and knitting the hearts of all her members in true love the bond of perfection perfect the work of sanctification in thine elect manifest thy selfe also gloriously this day declare thy gifts in the tongues of thy Preachers and eares of the hearers and the hearts of all the congregation Direct the mouthes of thy Preachers that they may skilfully sow the seed and open the eares and mollifie the hearts of the hearers that they may receive it profitably bring forth the fruits of the Spirit abundantly which are love joy peace long suffering gentlenesse goodnesse faith meeknesse temperance c. O eternall and infinite Holy Ghost the love of the Father and the Sonne who diddest descend upon our Saviour in the likenesse of a Dove without Gall purge out of my conscience all gall of malice and bitternesse and grant that with meeknesse I may receive the ingrafted word which is able to save my soule O holiest Spirit eternall breath of the Father and the Sonne and former of the word in the womb who camest with a sound come downe upon me in the sound of thy word preached though not in extraordinary gifts of Prophesie tongues and he ling yet in the ordinary graces of faith hope and charity the spirit of supplication and prayer of wisdome and spirituall understanding of power and ghostly comfort O heavenly Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Sonne who descendedst from Hâ—aven like a mighty rushing winde throw me downe to the ground inhumility and prostrate my heart soule before thee Bâ—at downe all strong holds of 〈…〉 nall maginati 〈…〉 and worldly thoughts resisting thy grace chase away all clouds of error out of my understanding cleare my wil from all fogs of noisome desires coole and refresh me in the heat of persecution fill the sailes of my affections and drive me speedily into the faire haven where I would be O divine fire burning continually
that made the stout souldiers to bow their heads in humility the fruitlesse and barren Publican to bear the fruit of Charity and all the common people to cry out with an unanimous consent What shall we doe This is the Angell of the Lord sent as a Messenger before his face to prepare his wayes he that was borne after a supernatural manner lived an austere angelicall life clad in course and rough habite fed with spare diet And after one yeare in his ministerial office for testifying the truth to fulfill the wicked desires of a lewd struÌ„pet prompt by her bloody mother when hee was little more than one and thirty yeares of age by the commandement of cruel Herod was beheaded in the Tower of Macherus which was a Towne of Peraea beyond Jordan twenty miles from Jerusalem towards the East scituated on a high Mountain which Townes name being derived from Machera signifies a sword and Iohn dyed by a sword Thus was this light withdrawne this lampe extinguished and this star clouded But all this is so excellently performed by Mr. Austin that the lustre of his bright Sun hath eclipsed this my star which inforceth me to conclude as hee doth in the Collect of the Church saying Almighty God by whose providence thy servant Iohn Baptist was wonderfully borne and sent to prepare the way of thy Son our Saviour by preaching of Penance make me so to follow his doctrine and holy life that I may truly repent according to his preaching and after his example constantly speake the truth boldly rebuke vice and patiently suffer for the truths sake through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen On the Feast of Saint Matthew THe next light after the Baptist in the Evangelical firmament I place the first of the Evangelists for which it may be some of the upholders of the universall Bishops Soveraignty will cavill with me because I doe not set the prime Apostle S. Peter in the first place For though Saint Matthew was the first Writer yet it may bee said Saint Peter was the first Preacher after the Ascension of our Lord as is evident in the first and second of the Acts. And there hath been as glorious lights Preachers as Writers But yet for that the History of the Gospell is the foundation of all writing and preaching I will begin with Saint Matthew who wrote his Gospel before the other three as is evident by Revel 6. 1. For when Christ which is the Lamb there mentioned had opened the sealed doctrine of our redemption in the first yeare of his ministeriall office to the six and thirtieth yeare after his birth one of the foure Beasts which by interpretours is Matthew writes his Gospell in the Hebrew tongue and in the mighty stile of Gods thundring Spirit set out the same willing all Nations to come and see viz. approach and consider it About which time in accomplishment of the second verse Christ and his Apostles passe out and preach to all the testimony of the Gospell shooting the arrowes of zeale to pierce all godly hearts which is prefigured in him that sate on the white horse crowned with victory and triumphantly conquering and overcomming the world And that S. Matthew is one of the four beasts is evident for both Ezekiel in his first chapter and S. Iohn in his fourth makes mention that one of the beasts had a face like a man which by all interpreters is applyed to Matthew because hee begins his first face or leafe with the genealogie of Christ as he is man of the seed of David by the Virgin Mary And the Prophet Ezekiel writing in Hebrew to the Hebrewes saith the first face of one of the foure beasts was as the face of a man meaning S. Matthew wrote first in Hebrew But the Prophet S. John writing in Greeke to the Grecians saith the first beast had the face of a Lion meaning S. Marke who wrote first in Greek S. Matthew was the third whose Gospell when S. Iohn wrote his was translated out of Hebrew into Greek Another reason why S. Matthews Gospell is set first is because he being an Apostle was to give light and open the way to the rest as S. Iohns Gospell is set last because being an Apostle he might give authority and confirme the former two which were Disciples and writ their Gospell Saint Marke by the instruction and approbation of S. Peter and S. Luke by the authority of S. Paul Saint Matthew setting downe his owne story is so farre from flattery that he cals himselfe Matthew the Publican and tels how he was called to be an Apostle as he was sitting at the receipt of custome which text is excellently expounded in M. Austins divine Meditations And as some report it was in Caesarea Philippi where likewise Christ cured the woman afflicted with the bloody issue 12 yeares by the touch of the hemme of his garment It is likewise related that S. Matthew having writ his Gospel delivered it to Iames the Lords brother then Bishop of Jerusalem preached the Gospell in Aethiopia now called the Kingdome of Presbyter-Iohn and was entertained by the Eunuch Chamberlaine to the Quâ—ene Candace whereof there is mention in the Acts. He prevailed so much that Aeglippus the King of Aethiopia and his people came to baptisme But there reigned after him one Hyrtacus which hated the Apostle and commanded him to be runne through with a sword But some say he was runne through with a speare at Hierapolis in Parthia where he was honourably buried so that he did not only write the Testament of his Lord but for confirmation of the truth thereof sealed it with his blood What may be further writ concerning this blessed Apostle I leave to the learned and conclude with the prayer for the day as the Church hath set it in her Liturgy saying Almighty God which by thy blessed Sonne didst call Matthew from the receipt of custome to be an Apostle and Evangelist grant me grace to forsake all covetous desires and inordinate love of riches and to follow thy said son Jesus Christ who liveth and reigneth with thee and thy holy Spirit three persons and one God now and for ever Amen On S. Markes-day THe next fundamentall light that appeared in the Evangelicall Sphere was S. Marke as appeares in the third and fourth verses of the sixth of the Revelation For when the second Beast or Gospell began to invite men to the perusall thereof then there went out another horse which was red and power was given to him that sate theron to take peace from the earth and that they should kill one another and there was given unto him a great sword which is thus paraphrased At that time proceeded tyrannous and bloody magistrates sitting in the seat of tyranny to whom power was given to persecute Gods Saints on earth and to deprive them of peace by causing all men to kill them abusing so the sword of Justice that God had given them And this was